He Would Have Laughed
by Claire Jefferson
Summary: Kirk is in a coma, much to the dismay of Spock, Bones and everyone else on the crew and on Earth. They wait in great anticipation for the day he will wake again. So for now they smile because he would have laughed, James T Kirk, King of the Stars.


**Well, I decided to write something. Yeah...So I hope you enjoy and I'm sorry if you don't.**

* * *

"Is there nothing you can do?" Spock asked, his heart heavy in his chest as he stared at the man in the bed.

"No," Bones replied, his eyes also drifting to Kirk. "He'll either wake up—or he won't. If he wakes—"

"—when he wakes," Spock corrected quickly.

Bones paused a moment and sucked in a breath of air like it was his last. "_When_," he nodded and continued, "he could suffer from all sorts of problems. But he could be fine. We don't know. He just needs to wake up first."

Spock lets himself nod his understanding because there were no more words to say. He kept his eyes trained on the Captain, the rising and falling of his chest. He was just asleep, a fast and undisturbed slumber. It had already been a week since Kirk had fallen and entered the coma. It had been remarkable he had survived but—but Spock was growing anxious and impatient with the man.

"Can he hear us?" Spock asked.

Bones shook his head, at a loss. "I don't know."

Spock squinted at the bed and then turned on his heels, leaving the doctor and his patient in the hospital room. He played the day back in his mind, just a week previous.

It had been a dangerous mission. Their enemy was so strong—Delator, he was called. He was going to kill them all—of that, Spock was sure.

But as Kirk stood with the man at the cliff, a spark of an idea entered his eyes. It was to Bones that Kirk looked as he found himself desperate to save his crew. He looked to the man he had known for so long. It was as if Kirk had accepted his fate. And he smiled—the bastard actually smiled—before he was moving.

It all happened so fast that, looking back, it was almost a blur.

Kirk grabbed Delator's arm, pulling him towards him. The enemy was stronger, but the sudden move caught him off balance. With no other options, Kirk made a last resort decision to save his family. Kirk held the man's arm as tight as he could and pushed himself over the cliff—took Delator with him, and saving the others.

But as he pushed his feet against the soil of the ground, in his last moment, it was to Spock that Kirk's gaze traveled. A smile still on his face, his eyes found Spock. In his last moments, Kirk looked to his closest bonded friend, and accepted what was to come.

And Spock was so sure that no one could survive such a fall. He was so sure of it. But Kirk was no ordinary man. Delator had landed on his head, snapping his neck and killing him instantly. With more luck on his side, Kirk had somehow managed to survive, though he was badly hurt and unconscious.

Bones was the first to him, followed quickly by Spock. The two had checked the Captain quickly, searching for life and finding it.

They had been so happy to find him alive—so relieved. The idea that he was going to sleep for a long time was so unreal that Spock couldn't accept it, even when two weeks later he was made Captain of the Enterprise. He didn't accept it when they were given their first mission after Kirk's accident.

* * *

They traveled to earth a lot more now. They all wanted to see Kirk. They all wanted the great man to wake up.

As a Doctor, Bones was always allowed in first. He'd stay for hours for their visits. Sometimes he'd bring books to read to Kirk. Other times he'd just talk and talk and talk about nothing. He'd tell him about his problems just like he used to, he told him his good luck, he told him his fears and his excitement. And then he'd beg the man to wake up.

After that, the rest of the crew paid their respects. They would bring flowers. They'd bring music to play and kind words to say.

It wasn't until visiting hours were over that Spock came. The staff just let him, allowing him to just sit there all alone in the empty room with the sleeping man.

And Spock would tell him about their missions. He would give a full report of everything that had happened. He'd tell him everything—everything the man had missed. He'd keep calling him "Captain" and would check the charts again and again for any sort of change.

Finally, Spock would have to leave to go back to his ship and crew. It was then that he'd look back at his old friend and frown, "come back to us Captain, we need you—I need you." And then he'd leave without looking back.

* * *

Bones and Spock talked more. Like Kirk had always done, Spock began to look to the medical man for his words of wisdom. He didn't always agree with the man but ever since the accident—the fall—the loss—the…they just didn't fight anymore. They'd talk about how damn selfish Kirk was being, sleeping all the time. Why couldn't he just wake up?

As the two walked through the halls of the ship they both stopped to stare. On the wall, written in big letters, it said:

_Captain James T. Kirk_

_King of the Stars_

Spock was about to order someone to scrub the graffiti off the wall but paused when Bones shook his head in amusement.

"I kind of like it," he shrugged, "and it would have made Kirk laugh."

It made Spock change his mind and instead, just quirk an eyebrow as his lips twitched into a quick smile every time he passed the words.

* * *

"It's been six months," Spock informed him as he stared at the bed. "Captain, I—Jim, please make it back to us. Please come back to us. If you don't…I'll never forgive you."

With that, Spock stood from the chair, feeling empty. It had been too long since he'd heard Kirk's voice, since he'd seen his smile (though it was engraved in his mind), since he'd seen the spark of laughter in his eyes.

He paused in the doorway, "we're getting married—Uhura and I are. A human ceremony. I'm sure she told you when she visited…We'd like you to be there. Two months from now." And he set a wedding invitation on the bedside table.

But in two months' time, Jim still was fast in sleep. Though for the bachelor night out for Spock, Bones took him drinking, just the two of them, and they ordered Jim's favorite drinks. They drank to Spock, to Uhura, and to Kirk. Because it would have made him laugh. Bones stepped in for Kirk as the best man, though they kept a space at the table for Jim and everything. Bones and Spock could never have what each other had with Kirk, but they grew close anyway.

* * *

"And he was so drunk that he could hardly stand," Bones was saying and chuckled. And then his smile slowly slipped away. "Spock and I talk about you a lot. He misses you—I think. It's hard to read or understand Yoda. But he, uh, I think he's happy to be married. Uhura sure is. Maybe their marriage will actually last better than mine…" he paused to wipe a stray tear that had slipped from his sad eyes. "You'd have laughed at that."

Bones sat in the silence for a moment, staring at the machine that bleeped to Kirk's heartbeat.

He shook his head, "anyway, I—uh—I spoke to your Mom yesterday. She's doing well. I guess you know that since she's in here almost every day….I wish I could be here more but we still, we still have places to go. I tried to get transferred to this hospital to be with you to make sure that you weren't too much of a burden to the rest of the medical staff…but Spock wouldn't let me. So you can blame him if you're getting lonely."

Bones stopped talking for another moment to look at Kirk. The tears were there again. "Do you get lonely, Kirk? I do. I miss ya a whole lot, you idiot. Why did you do it? Why do you always have to be the hero? Why did it have to be you? I know that sounds selfish but—but damn it, after everything you've ever lost, don't you think you deserve to live happily ever after? And what about me? You're the best friend I ever had and now you've gone and gotten yourself in a coma. Just, just wake up soon, okay? Spock isn't half as good as being a Captain as you."

* * *

"Happy Anniversary," Spock announced as he entered the room. He stared at the bed, as if waiting for a reaction because James Kirk would have laughed at that.

But there was nothing so Spock made his way to the chair beside the bed and sighed. He checked the chart, and then he looked at the monitor, and then back at the face of the sleeping man.

"She's pregnant," Spock finally said. "Did she tell you? We found out last week. She's very excited. I find myself very nervous. I don't think I'll be a particularly wonderful father. You'd be a good Dad, wouldn't you? You're practically a child yourself at times."

Silence. There was always silence. But Spock could swear he could hear laughter.

* * *

"It's going to be a boy," Spock whispers. "We're going to name him James, after you."

"Personally, I think it's because they have no imagination," Bones told him with a chuckle and knew Jim would have laughed too. Jim laughed at everything. He was just one of those guys.

"But we've been talking," Spock said slowly, "about you."

"It's been a year and a half, Jim," Bones told him slowly. "And I know we've all been telling you that we need you, and to hold on, to come back to us."

"But you're not the Captain anymore Jim," Spock said and then he stopped because his voice cut off, his throat closing. One tear, than another, another. Dear God, why Kirk? "I—I am."

"What he's trying to say, Jim," Bones continued despite the tears that splashed down his own face, "is that you can let go. The crew is safe. Spock is doing a good job so you don't have to—you can let go of us because you've done your job. You saved us, Kirk, and now it's time for you to move on. I miss you, I'm always going to miss you, but we're going to be alright."

Spock reached out with his arm and set his hand on Kirk's face like he had done a million times before. He tried to reach the man's mind. But he couldn't. _You can let go, Jim. You can let go._

Both men took a seat on either side of Jim and stayed there. They talked, they laughed, they cried, and every once and awhile, they went silent. They were still there at five in the morning when James Tiberious Kirk passed away.

Some would say it was a coincidence. Others would say that Kirk had clung onto life because he thought his crew needed him. But when Bones and Spock were ready to say goodbye, Kirk was relieved to let go.

* * *

His funeral was large, the largest ever recorded actually.

Bones couldn't get up to speak but Spock, a Vulcan, was able to keep his composure enough to get in front of everyone and read the eulogy written by both men for the great man.

"Captain James Tiberious Kirk was more than just a Captain, he was a good friend, and he was an important member of a big family. He will be greatly missed and long remembered. Jim had the great talent of influencing and gaining the love of people. He touched many lives, not just those of his crew, but the many citizens of many planets, none more than those who inhabit Earth."

He told them all the things the man had accomplished. He relayed the first time Bones and Kirk met as well as himself and Kirk. He kept his voice level and firm all the way to the end.

"Captain Kirk was a great man," he said as he neared his ending of telling them the long list of accomplishments. "and he truly was _King of the Stars._"

Years from now, long after Spock, Bones, and the Starship Enterprise were things of history, James Kirk would still be known as King of the Stars with awe and admiration.

* * *

It was only a few weeks after that Uhura gave birth to a healthy baby boy—1/4th Volcan and perfectly wonderful. Spock cried the first time he held his little baby boy and decided that it was Jim Kirk's fault for tuning the Vulcan into a very emotional man.

Uhura just grinned and kissed her husband.

The entire crew showed up to meet the little baby boy. Bones was the Godfather. He rolled his eyes and accepted begrudgingly though he was delighted to be part of the boy's life.

"What did you name him?" Bones asked, loudly for the crew.

It was Spock who answered him with a grin. "James Ryan."

Bones raised a questioning eyebrow. "Ryan? I like the name but I figured it would be something Vulcan."

"On Earth, the name Ryan means "little King,'" Spock informed him with a knowing glance.

Bones let out a bark of laughter. "Hail James! Little King!" And then two men shared a knowing look because Jim Kirk would have laughed at that. _King of the Stars._

* * *

**I regret nothing! (find me on tumblr "writing-on-lifes-pages" if you've got one) Thanks for reading, please review because it makes my day :)**


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